Just Because They Say It Doesn’t Make It So

Anyone who has had a family member in recovery will recognize this phrase, and as I watched the media's manipulation of last week's presidential primaries, I couldn't help but think it aptly applied in that case as well.

Have we become a nation of co-dependents who believe everything we hear without questioning the agenda or the pathological state of the pundit who's uttering it? It may be that we are so beat up by nearly eight years of completely unsubstantiated statements out of the White House,  "Mission Accomplished", WMD's, etc., that we are unable to decipher fact from fiction.

Ever since KPBS gave me the opportunity to become a Citizens Voices blogger, I've felt the responsibility to investigate the source of everything I read, or hear on TV, whether it's on John Stewart  or CNN or Fox. That often means researching the writer, and then the writer's affiliations, and finally, who's behind those affiliations. I can get lost in Googleland, just trying to track down the back-stories.

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Snobs-R-Us

Have you heard the story about the Prius-driving, latté-sipping Democrat?

It goes something like this: an elitist, upper-middle class, pseudo-intellectual snob goes into a group of his or her peers and begins spouting advice on how to fix their inbred, uninformed, and sad little lives. Not funny? No, it really isn't too funny. But for many non-Democrats (such as, Libertarians, Republicans, neo-cons, the apathetic masses, the creators of South Park, etc...) this is the vision of a liberal.

So, is there any truth to the stereotype? Does John Edwards' $400 haircut amidst New Orleans' ravaged Lower Ninth Ward signal what's wrong with liberalism? Or does the unseemly image of a bleeding heart Democrat preaching to the poor masses fog up the lens of perception?

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Party Crasher

With Ralph Nader announcing his presidential candidacy, the embarrassment of holding him partially responsible for Al Gore’s loss in 2000 crept up like a forgotten nightmare. I don’t like admitting this — although many in my party don’t mind — because I believe what Mr. Nader has said about bipartisanship is true.

The two-party system is choking civic involvement. Labeling oneself as either a Democrat or a Republican feels stifling now as more and more voters claim their independence. 

I don’t think Ralph Nader’s run for office this time will siphon votes the way I begrudgingly believe it did in 2000. That’s because Dems have heard his message earlier this year, and mostly rejected it.

When John Edwards’ campaign message featured big corporations versus the little people, it was a prelude to Mr. Nader’s meat-and-potato policy initiatives. Edwards’s message was mostly rejected by early primary voters. So unless former Edwards’ supporters jump ship from backing Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton to go third-party for a day, Mr. Nader is competing for undecided Democratic and Independent voters.

Personally, I think Mr. Nader’s work has made a huge impact on America’s view on the important role of independent voters, the environment, and big business’ relationship with regular consumers. However, his days of running for office are irrelevant and will likely be ignored by most voters this time around. Then again, maybe Ralph Nader is as much a "miracles guy" like Mike Huckabee when it comes to victoriously ending this election.

-Citizen Voices blogger Alma Sove has spent most of her life in San Diego and is currently attending law school. 

Johnny, I’m Going to Miss You

As I feared, Corporate Media had their way, so I won’t even have the opportunity to vote for my candidate.

Over the past several months I watched with wonder as I witnessed the major networks’ systematic trivialization of John Edward’s campaign. Ridiculed as “vain” or “angry” or “rich” or “irrelevant” by foolish reporters who didn't know enough about history to even understand how fundamental American rights have been eroded, or how far we have traveled from basic protections our society used to afford us - even as recently as a decade ago.

John Edwards was the only candidate who had done battle with corporate giants and won. Of course Corporate America didn't want to see Edwards become the Democratic candidate.

Well, John, thank you for running.

Thank you for championing the causes of the middle class, and the working poor. Thank you for pushing for a universal health plan. 

This election may represent the last opportunity for all of us to reclaim the promise made by the framers of our United States Constitution. The real issue of this election is not the economy or the war or immigration or even the environment. While these are all vital issues and will determine how we will live out our lives, what is actually at stake is the survival of our democracy as an entity owned by “We the People.”

It is up to us to take back our country and demand a return to the “rule of law” where all citizens are bound by a set of clearly defined and accepted laws.

This rule of law is manifested in an independent judiciary, a free press, and a system of checks and balances on leaders through free elections, and separation of powers among the branches of government.

The continued erosion of these basic principles threatens our social order and our civil rights far more than whether a Mexican national climbs over that ridiculous corrugated wall down at “Friendship Park”; or whether we are allowed to continue destroying an entire country that did not attack us first; or whether corporations systematically continue to outsource our labor force and sell our country to the highest bidder; or whether we pay more attention to celebrity sightings than we do to the catastrophic evidence of global warming.

“We the People” means all of us - you and me.

Somehow we have to navigate the political waters of sound bytes, intimidation, blatant misinformation, and election fraud to decipher which candidate truly possesses the combination of ability, instinct, and integrity.  

 
- Candace Suerstedt is a filmmaker and a mother of three who lives in Coronado.